What’s to Come of the Drone Industry in 2017

January 05, 2017

Written by Christina Cardoza, InterDrone News

Jan 4, 2017 1:48:22 PM

The drone industry is still in its early stages, but it is rapidly growing and evolving every year. In 2015, we saw the birth of new hardware and equipment. In 2016, we saw a focus more on what the drone can do with the data it collects rather than on just the drone. 2016 also saw the finalization of Part 107, allowing small drones to be used for commercial use. Now we are in a new year, with a new President taking office—it is going to be an interesting year for drones.

InterDrone News spoke with some industry thought leaders to get a sense of the industry over the next year.

"DMA is looking forward to a great year in 2017. The immense benefits of drones are just starting to emerge as drone users continue to utilize them in innovative and unique ways." - Kara Calvert, director of the Drone Manufacturers Alliance

"We’ll see regulators seek to expand the operating envelope, to broadly authorize critical operations over people, BVLOS, and at night." - Lisa Ellman, partner at Hogan Lovells, and co-executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance

"Technology will continue to transform agriculture, and we’ll see a major increase in drone adoption next year [i.e. 2017]." - Mike Winn, cofounder and CEO of DroneDeploy